Aims: to arouse interest and lead in reading.Step 2 Warming up Guessing game — Divide the whole class into 2 groups. Let the students have a competition. Show the following on the screen. Task 1. Match the famous rivers and the countries where they are located. The great rivers in the world

Names of river Mekong river Seine Nile GongoLocation

Location England Egypt Central Africa US1

Task 2. Find out the names of some famous rivers in China. 1. It is the second longest in China. It is called our mother river.As a famous saying goes, “You can never wash yourself clean even if you jump into the ____river.” (Key: The Yellow River.) 2. The river is 6300 km long. It is the third longest river in the world. It is the longest river in China. Three Gorges Dam is built above the river. (Key: The Changjiang River or the Yangtse River.) 3. It is the longest river in Southeast Asia. It begins in Qinghai Province and flows through several countries. (Key: the Mekong River.) Task 3. In China, the Mekong River is called the Lancang River, and out of China, it is called the Mekong River. Can you list the countries that the Mekong River flows through? (Keys: China→Myanmar→Laos→Thailand→Cambodia→Vietnam→South China Sea)

Aims: to introduce the unit topic and arouse students’ interests in class activities.Step 3. Reading I. Fast reading (Reading tips: Skim the whole passage quickly and silently and pay attention to the passage structure. Don’t worry about the details or new words.) Task 1. Get the students to read the passage quickly and then match the main idea of each part. Part 1 para 1 A. Preparation Part 2 para 2 B. A stubborn sister Part 3 para 3 C. Dream Task 2. Get the students to fill in the blanks. Main idea: The text mainly tells us about _________and___________of Wang Kun and Wang Wei and how they will cycle along the _________. (Key: the dream, the plan, Mekong River )

Aims: to develop students’ reading ability to get the main idea and certain information.II. Careful reading (Reading tips: Read the passage more carefully and find more detailed information.) Get the students to read the passage more carefully and find more information about their journey and then finish the following tasks . Task1. Read Para1 and find more information about their dream. 1. Match the time with the things that happen. Time Since middle school Things that happen A. she bought an expensive mountain bike. Then she2

persuaded me to buy one. Two years ago Last year When we graduated from college B. we finally got the chance to do it. C. she visited our cousins, Dao Wei and Yu Hang at their college in Kunming. D. my sister Wang Wei and I have dreamed about taking a great bike trip.

2. Find more details about their dream (1). Who and what: Wang Kun and _____ ______ are dreaming about _____________. (Key: Wang Wei, taking a great bike trip ) (2). Where and how: They have the idea to ____ _____ the Mekong River from where it ______ to where it ____. (Key: cycle along, begins, ends) Task2. Read Para2 and Answer the questions below. 1. Where is the source of the Mekong River? (Key: The source of the river is in Qinghai Province.) 2. Is it a difficult journey along the Mekong River? Why? (Key: Yes. The journey begins at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, where it is hard to breathe and very cold. (line22)) 3. What kind of person is Wangwei? (Key: She is very stubborn. Once she has made up her mind, nothing can change it. (line25)) Task3. Read Para3 and fill in the blanks. The Mekong River It begins at ___________________________, moves ______ and passes through __________. Half of it is in ______.It enters _________________. Then it travels slowly through _____________where rice grows.At last it enters ___________________ .

(Key: a glacier on a Tibetan mountain, quickly, deep valleys, China, the Southeast Asia, low valleys to plains, the South China Sea.) Task4. Let’s enjoy the beautiful scenery along the Mekong River. III. Sentence appreciation: Translate some difficult sentences and read them aloud. 1. It was my sister who first had the idea to cycle along the entire Mekong River from where it begins to where it ends. (Key: 首先想到沿湄公河从源头到终点骑车旅游的是我的姐姐。) 2. Although she didn’t know the best way of getting to places, she insisted that

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she organize the trip properly. (Key: 虽然她对去某些地方的最佳路线并不清楚， 她却坚持要自己把这次旅游安排得尽善尽 美。) 3. It makes wide bends or meanders through low valleys to the plains where rice grows. (Key: 河水蜿蜒缓慢地穿过低谷，流向生长稻谷的平原。) 4. Once she has made up her mind, nothing can change it. (Key: 她一旦下定了决心，什么也不能使他改变。)

Aims: to develop students’ ability to get more details about the passage, and have students get a further understanding including some words and sentences.Step 4 Summary Get the students to fill in the blank and retell the story. Wang Kun and Wang Wei have _________ about taking a great bike trip. When they __________ from college. They _______ to _____ along the Mekong River with their ________. Wang Wei is very _________. Once she is __________ to do something she will never _______ her mind. Although it is difficult to travel along the Mekong River by bike, she ________ that they find the ________ of the river and begin their journey there. (Key: dreamed, graduated, decided, cycle, cousins, stubborn, determined, change, insisted, source)

Aims: to conclude the whole passage and enable the students to have a clear impression on the story.Step 5 Discussion: Interview and role-play T: Travelling widens our view, increases our knowledge, and builds our bodies. Are you excited and eager to go out and explore the world? Suppose you are a reporter from China Central Television(cctv), you are having an interview with the students from Tong’an No.1 Middle School about their travel plans in the near Spring Festival. Discuss with your partners in groups of four and choose two students to act it out. Procedures: 1. Greeting and self-introduction 2. Interviewing (4 or 5 questions ) 3. Saying Goodbye Suggested expressions: 1. Asking for opinions: What do you think of?? Where are you going? Why do you want to go to. .? What are you taking with you? How long are you staying?? What are you going to do? 2. Giving opinions: As far as I am concerned? Personally speaking? As for me...

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Aims: to consolidate what has been learnt and ask students to use what they have learned to express their ideas.Step 6 Homework 1. Surf the Internet to find more information about the Mekong river. 2. Develop your opinion into an article about your own travel plan(120 words). Step 7 Gift time Count the points that each group get and then give the gift to the winners.